The Church Called Jonah

                                           # 24 -  The City-wide Repenting Jonah 3:5 – “ So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. 6  Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered  himself  with sackcloth and sat in ashes.  7  And he caused  it  to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his  [ b ] nobles, saying, let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water.  8  But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.  9  Who can tell  if  God will turn and relent, and...

  # 23 – The Obedient Prophet   Jonah 3:3-4 - 3  So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the  Lord . Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent.  4  And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” We just read how the Lord spoke with Jonah the second time and gave him the same message to go and preach against Nineveh. Let’s look at Jonah’s reaction to the second Commission by the Lord, especially after the terrible ordeals, he experienced both on the surface of the sea with the tempest and in the heart of the sea in the belly of the great fish. “So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord….” When the read of the Lord speaking with Jonah the first time, the sentence that followed the Lord’s instruction began with the word, “But,” and continued to read, “Jonah arose to ...

  # 22 – The Second Commission   Jonah 3:1 – “Now the word of the  Lord  came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.”   “Now the word of the  Lord  came to Jonah the second time…” When we read the above words of the Lord to Jonah in Jonah 1:2 , “ Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” We are also reminded of Jonah’s reaction to the Lord’s commission to him in verse 3 , “ But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the  Lord . He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the  Lord .” We’ve looked at all that happened as a result of Jonah’s rebellion that eventually led to his repentance. Now we see the Lord being gracious and commissio...

  # 21 - The Divine Deliverance Jonah 2:10 - So the  Lord  spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry  land. “So the Lord spoke to the fish” The words, “So the Lord spoke to the fish” might seem fairytale-like or present-day cartoon movie-like where people speak with and have relationships with animals, birds, or fish, but this is neither a fairytale nor is it a cartoon movie. It is God who created the universe and every living being in it (including the fish), commanding His creation to do something on behalf of the crown of His creation – mankind It’s only humans that can have a relationship with God, as it was only humans who were created in the image of God - in His likeness, to reflect His character/nature. Animals, birds, reptiles, and fish were not created in God’s image, and therefore cannot have a relationship with God. Also, it’s only humans who possess a soul that lives on for eternity. And it’s this fact about humans that not only sets us a...

  # 20 – The Deep Prayer Jonah 1:1-9 - Then Jonah prayed to the  Lord  his God from the fish’s belly.  2  And he said: “I cried out to the  Lord  because of my affliction, and He answered me. “Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, a nd  You heard my voice. 3  For You cast me into the deep,  nto the heart of the seas, and the floods surrounded me; all Your billows and Your waves passed over me. 4  Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight; yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’ 5  The waters surrounded me,  even  to my soul; the deep closed around me; weeds were wrapped around my head. 6  I went down to the moorings of the mountains; the earth with its bars  closed  behind me forever; yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O  Lord , my God. 7  “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the  Lord ; and my prayer went  up  to You, into Y...

  # 19 – The Fishy Rescue   Jonah 1:16 – “Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”   Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah We just saw how the sailors made a tough, never-before-done decision – to throw a man overboard. We also saw how, when Jonah was thrown overboard, the sea calmed down and they, in response made sacrifices to the Lord and took vows. Just when the story seems to take a terrible turn and hints at the end of Jonah’s life, something amazing happens, and this time again, it’s the Lord who’s responsible for what happens. We don’t know how deep Jonah sank into the waters before the Lord intervened, but it could not have been too deep, lest he would have run out of breath. The Lord intervened at the perfect time and did what seems scientifically impossible – it can still not be explained. In fact, it’s the unexplainable that we call miracles, don’t w...